Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

E46 (1999 - 2006) The fourth generation 3 Series (E46 chassis) was introduced in 1999 and set the standard for engineering and performance during it's years of production including being named to Car & Driver's 10 best list every one of those years! ! -- View the E46 Wiki

So, when I'm going anywhere past 30mph and I hit the brakes (not slam on them or anything just normally braking) I feel a thumping/skipping feeling in the brake pedal. I had just recently gotten my car back from the shop (Yesterday actually) and today I took it back to have them take a look, they showed me that the inside of my drivers side tire was completely wasted so that was letting a bunch of air out and possibly could be the cause, they also said that I could need new rotors and maybe brakes. So the first question, where would be the best place to buy some new rotors and brakes for the best price? and I'm thinking of doing it for all 4 wheels. Second question, I'm stuck between buying the Conti ExtremeContact DW and the Conti ExtremeContact DWS, I'm here in Maryland and we do get our fair bit of snow and rain so I'm not really sure which tires would serve me best, I wish not to sacrifice any handling/noise if possible! Thanks guys! Oh also, if you have any other tire suggestions I would love to hear them thanks again!

Thanks fastbob and sunset, I've got all the information I need from the Wiki, and sunset I hope I don't need those any time soon as I've already seen how expensive it can be to do a replacement on those. All that's left now is to find out where I can get good brake pads and rotors from. Any ideas?

Thanks fastbob and sunset, I've got all the information I need from the Wiki, and sunset I hope I don't need those any time soon as I've already seen how expensive it can be to do a replacement on those. All that's left now is to find out where I can get good brake pads and rotors from. Any ideas?

Most guys do pretty well with www.oembimmerparts.com..... as far as rotors go, Brembo, Zimmerman, Balo are all pretty good, getting ones with anti-rust coating already on them will help with keeping them attractive. For pads, Pagid or Jurid are top performers, but tend to dust a bit more than aftermarket pads, but washing your wheels is a small price to pay for brakes that REALLY stop well....

Don`t forget to bed your new brakes !

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

Most guys do pretty well with www.oembimmerparts.com..... as far as rotors go, Brembo, Zimmerman, Balo are all pretty good, getting ones with anti-rust coating already on them will help with keeping them attractive. For pads, Pagid or Jurid are top performers, but tend to dust a bit more than aftermarket pads, but washing your wheels is a small price to pay for brakes that REALLY stop well....

Don`t forget to bed your new brakes !

So I wen't to oembimmerparts.com and found this kit. http://www.oembimmerparts.com/BMW_Br...brakekitsz.htm it contains the pagid pads and zimmerman rotors, would this be the best pricing i can find? Cause I'm doing a brake refresh and changing both front and back brakes along with the brake fluid.

So I wen't to oembimmerparts.com and found this kit. http://www.oembimmerparts.com/BMW_Br...brakekitsz.htm it contains the pagid pads and zimmerman rotors, would this be the best pricing i can find? Cause I'm doing a brake refresh and changing both front and back brakes along with the brake fluid.

For a complete 4-wheel rebuild you can generally expect to pay around $350 to $400 for kits with corrosion-resistant rotors, so you`re right in the ballpark.

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

One more question, I was looking at brake fluids and was thinking of using ATE super blue, but read it's been banned? Regardless I know I should use DOT4 fluid but which brand do you guys recommend? Also, I'm getting to order the Conti ExtremeContact DWS from tirerack.com and this little box saying "205/50-17 will not fit on 8" wide wheels. This size requires a minimum of an 89 load index tire." I have stock BMW style 32 rims, would these tires be fine for the rims I'm currently using?

Last edited by WhatDoesThisDo3; 05-16-2014 at 12:37 PM.
Reason: Added another question.

One more question, I was looking at brake fluids and was thinking of using ATE super blue, but read it's been banned? Regardless I know I should use DOT4 fluid but which brand do you guys recommend? Also, I'm getting to order the Conti ExtremeContact DWS from tirerack.com and this little box saying "205/50-17 will not fit on 8" wide wheels. This size requires a minimum of an 89 load index tire." I have stock BMW style 32 rims, would these tires be fine for the rims I'm currently using?

So I went to the dealer ship to ask what the right tire size was and they said 225/45/17 and I'm looking at tirerack.com right now and I have these all season tires here http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...45&diameter=17 I really wanted the Dunlop SP sport signatures but they are on back order so I just wanted an opinion on which other of these tires is a good substitute, I'm on the verge on either the Pirelli's or the Good year EagleSports, but any other opinions are greatly appreciated! I wish I could use the Conti Extreme ContactDWS but, they don't have the appropiate size for the car.

So I went to the dealer ship to ask what the right tire size was and they said 225/45/17 and I'm looking at tirerack.com right now and I have these all season tires here http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...45&diameter=17 I really wanted the Dunlop SP sport signatures but they are on back order so I just wanted an opinion on which other of these tires is a good substitute, I'm on the verge on either the Pirelli's or the Good year EagleSports, but any other opinions are greatly appreciated! I wish I could use the Conti Extreme ContactDWS but, they don't have the appropiate size for the car.

There`s more than ONE tire dealer out there....I would shop around for those DWSs, they`re worth it.
And, that suggestion regarding the 225/45/17 size is just that, a suggestion....there`s nothing carved in stone saying that`s the ONLY size you can use....235/45/17s would work just fine.

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

There`s more than ONE tire dealer out there....I would shop around for those DWSs, they`re worth it.
And, that suggestion regarding the 225/45/17 size is just that, a suggestion....there`s nothing carved in stone saying that`s the ONLY size you can use....235/45/17s would work just fine.

Do you know of any other tire dealers out there that you can suggest to find the DWS, I looked for the DWS's on tire rack in both 225/45/17 and 235/45/17 and got no results so any other places I could find them? Thanks FastBob!

Do you know of any other tire dealers out there that you can suggest to find the DWS, I looked for the DWS's on tire rack in both 225/45/17 and 235/45/17 and got no results so any other places I could find them? Thanks FastBob!